


Am I Inflammable? Yeaaaah…

by Tami_Okoro_Dedeh



Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: Backstreet's Back, Gen, Horror, Video, music video
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23830141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tami_Okoro_Dedeh/pseuds/Tami_Okoro_Dedeh
Summary: The boys are filming the video for Everybody (Backstreet's Back). Nick loves nothing better than pushing everyone's buttons, but can't take the heat himself. Literally.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5
Collections: 1000 Ways to Kill Nick Carter





	Am I Inflammable? Yeaaaah…

“Yo, D!” AJ scooted up the giant leather sofa and wrapped a tattooed arm round his friend, a cheeky glint gleaming in his eye. It could only mean one thing - their resident bad boy had chicks on the brain. As usual. “Been thinking…maybe we made a hasty decision regarding our characters. Wanna swap roles? I’ll be the vampire, you take over as Erik.”

“And why would I wanna do that?” Howie rolled his eyes disapprovingly. Typical Alexander James McLean, always starting what he never finished. “Haven’t you always professed your undying love for The Phantom? You finally got your wish, and now you’re thinking of swapping?”

“Oh man,” AJ attempted to persuade his pal. “Can’t a dude change his mind just this once? Hook a brother up, pretty please?”

“Yeah, right.” Howie flashed a wry smile at his flirtatious bandmate. “Be honest - you’re trying to hook up with Josie, tell me I’m lying.” It was no secret AJ was the biggest flirt in the band, always chatting up the hottest chicks on set and keeping them keen until a hotter chick arrived on the scene. He’d even pursued Leighanne, an aspiring actress from Georgia they’d met at their last video shoot in Pasadena that week, but Brian couldn’t take his eyes off the pretty Southern belle either. One week later, and AJ had struck again, his wandering eye this time on Howie’s stunning companion now Leighanne appeared to show more interest in the younger Kentucky cousin.

“You already have a multitude of lovelies dining with you in your own segment, AJ. I have only one…”

“Yeah, but damn, yours is fine! And you get to sink your fangs into that neck...”

“Let it go, Bone. Besides…” Howie nodded towards Nick and his best pal Brian, both boys goofing around with studio props like the two unruly brats they really were. “I think we all chose our alter-egos well, especially Frack. Those bandages should keep him out of mischief this time, huh?”

“Yeah,” AJ agreed. “Joseph said he’s gonna do his little dance chained to a coffin. Just as well, at least _Teen Beat_ can’t announce another incident involving our scatterbrained little brother.”

Howie threw his head back in laughter, and Kevin, who approached the duo with two steaming cups of black coffee to jolt his sleep deprived friends’ senses, failed to suppress a heaving chuckle.

“I heard that!” Nick glared at the boys from the other end of the studio. Most scatterbrained Backstreet Boy? Of all the unfortunate titles in the world? Damn those teeny mags, how come they never mentioned the other guys’ flaws? None of those writers teased the hairy furrows above Kevin’s emerald eyes, or Howie’s diminutive height. Editors overlooked AJ’s increasing tattoo collection, hailing him as the one bad boy overbearing mothers would happily let their precious babies date. Even Brian’s Christianity was hailed as a refreshing change from the drugs, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll antics associated with pop stars, making him the surprise epitome of 90’s cool. And Nick? Column inches dedicated to the band’s most popular member either swooned over his angelic cuteness or exaggerated his latest shenanigans in a bid to sell the most copies. How unfair.

“Y’all better not take the piss, guys,” Nick warned, using slang he’d learned during their last promotional trip in London. “It ain’t my fault this kinda stuff happens, it just happens, y’all. You ain’t gonna talk about nothing else? It’s been ‘Nick slipped into this...Nick broke that’ all day. Give it a rest, guys, ‘cos I swear I’m gonna…”

“What?” quizzed Brian. “Let me guess. You’re gonna resign…in Florida?”

Nick threw a bandage ball at his best friend. “Shut up, Rok!” Couldn’t these jerks forget his infamous blonde moment on European TV? He was only 15 at the time, for goodness sake! “Like you guys ain’t never screwed up in public before? No-one’s gonna talk about that time when D swore during that _Sixteen_ report?”

“They beeped me,” Howie reminded him. “Our fans are sure gonna remember your unfortunate Florida comment across the galaxies for generations to come, but hey, if it upsets you that much, I hear Tampa is pretty warm this time of year...” 

“Fine!” Nick went red and slammed his coffee. “Laugh all you want, guys, I’m outta here!”

“Come on Nicky, it’s only a joke...” Kevin called, but Nick waved him off and stormed off the set. Kevin shrugged. “It’s okay guys, give him some cool off time. He’s always temperamental, but he’ll get over it, right?” The other three boys nodded, and their conversation turned to their latest video idea, a spooky treatment loosely based on Micheal Jackson’s "Thriller" and set inside the haunted house featured in the _Caspar_ movies, each member performing as their chosen eerie character. Just as the topic turned to the latest object of Brian’s desire - not that they’d been many since Samantha - a cough from behind made them turn round at the same time.

“Yo, Joe!” AJ high-fived their music video director. “What’s up?”

“Just hanging. From gangsta rap and grunge to pop videos, who would have guessed, huh? Can’t believe Jive refused to get behind this project though, they’re crazy.”

“Can’t believe Ice Cube turned the concept down either,” added Kevin. “ _He’s_ crazy.”

“Maybe. Listen, I’ve just had a lightbulb moment.” Joseph Kahn lowered himself into a director's chair and stretched out his aching legs, one of the many joys of thinking on his feet all day. “Sure, the video can’t be too ghoully - imagine the lawsuits when your fans collapse at the sight of blood and gore on _MTV Live_ at 5PM - but no way are we cutting corners with realism. Good thing we’ve already done the dance sequence, and Rok, you carried on like a trooper despite that nasty stomach bug. Well done, man, and…” The director scanned the set and frowned. “Hey, where’s Nick?”

“He’s just being a brat,” Howie answered. “A few harmless jokes here and there, and he vanishes.” The boys giggled, but Joseph jumped out of his chair instead, too aggravated to crack a smile. 

“He can’t disappear like that!” Joseph scolded. “Yes, it’s not on the storyboard, but I need him for a mini-scene I’ve come up with, and I’ve asked the makeup guys to get their stuff together. You’re suppose to be serious artists, you can’t waste time like this, especially on your limited budget…”

“Joseph?” A sound technician who had heard the director’s outburst approached the group, and Joseph looked up curiously. “It’s okay, he walked past me outside and he looked really mad, but brace yourselves guys,” he warned. “I heard him tell security he was plotting revenge ‘cos you’ve been winding him up all day.”

“Old news!” remarked Kevin. “What a baby. As if _he_ doesn’t push our buttons all day.”

“Well, somebody find him!” ordered Joseph impatiently. “They’ve already started filming the extra mummy scenes - time is precious here - but Nick needs to be there, or what’s the point?” 

“Don’t worry Joseph, we’ll find him,” promised Kevin, taking charge. “He might be a stubborn little shit, but he won’t stay mad that long.”

“Yeah,” confirmed Brian. “Leave it to us, we’ll get him. And sorry about all this.”

Kevin combed his way through the fake cobwebs, choking on the mock dust until he reached the hallway and called out Nick’s name, but even the extras and dancers hadn’t spotted him. Surely he couldn’t remain angry with them that long. And all because of some harmless jokes? Three extras swaddled in bandages similar to Nick’s mummy costume emerged from a room, and Kevin sniffed the air curiously. Weird smell, fake blood perhaps? Not a chance, given Joseph was bent on keeping the video PG with minimal gore. Hadn’t the food used in AJ’s phantom scene been disposed of properly? Yeah, right. Rotting watermelon stinking up the mansion like charred liver? Had the caterers decided to surprise the boys with a last-minute barbecue after AJ complained he hadn’t eaten McDonalds in three days?

A frustrated Kevin ran his fingers through his hair. Damn that wretched smell, and to hell with Bone’s double quarter pounder gluttony, where the hell was Nick? Sure, this was a massive mansion, but seriously? The last thing Kevin wanted was to piss off a renowned music director who had agreed to help a virtually unknown boyband that found fame in Germany, of all places. No other director would willingly collaborate with the group when stories regarding their appalling work ethic circulated in the press. God, Nick had always been a regular pain in the ass, but this behaviour on this day of all days took the whole bakery, never mind the mere biscuit. 

"Man, I could kill Nick," Kevin swore under his breath, vowing to give him a huge piece of his mind the moment he got his hands on that cranky trouble-making brat. A loud scream pierced through the hallway, and several crew members ran towards the sound. Kevin followed them, but stopped in his tracks at the sight of the bus driver in their video starring into space solemnly.

“Antonio, what’s going on?” Kevin asked nervously. “Somebody tell me what the hell’s going on!”

Antonio Fargas pointed to the burning furnace on the other end of the makeshift set and crashed to the floor, shock engraved on his face. Suddenly Nick’s disappearance, combined with the stench from earlier, made sense.

“Nicky!” 

“Please don’t tell me that’s what I think it is!” Joseph yelled, pushing his way through the bewildered crowd hanging their heads in despair crying “Fuck!” repeatedly at the sight of the burned carcass. “Shit, how did that happen? What the hell was he doing inside the coffin? When I said shoot the cremation scene, I didn’t mean burn him to death. Can’t you morons fucking do anything right?”

The special effects coordinator removed his steamed-up glasses and dabbed at his tears. “Joseph, I swear we didn’t know he was inside when the coffin rolled into the fire...” 

“I knew Nick was mischievous, but I never thought he’d take it to this level.” A security guard whispered to his colleague and sighed heavily, but Kevin had heard him.

“What are you talking about?” he probed.

“He came to me after he had an argument with you and the boys, he was really mad, and said you should all prepare for the scare of your lives.” The guard could barely look at Kevin. “He said something about hiding somewhere and jumping out to frighten you guys when you least expected, and I tried talking him out of it but he refused to listen. The crew heard someone screaming and kicking when they were filming the cremation, but they couldn’t figure out where the noise came from until...until it was too late...” 

Tears streamed down the burly security guard’s face. He’d grown fond of Nick in that short space of time, never guessing he’d perish under the most peculiar circumstances. Cremation after mummifying after plotting his own little scare on a horror set?

The other boys ran into the room, and Kevin’s heart beat faster. How would he break the news? Nick had walked out in anger that afternoon, and they all hoped he’d gradually cool off. None of them had expected him to burn in anger. 

Literally.


End file.
